Gujarat Police Bust Racket Trying to Smuggle Liquor via Ghogha-Hazira Ro-Ro Ferry

Surat: The State Monitoring Cell (SMC) of the police busted a smuggling racket and seized liquor worth Rs 27 lakh from a truck at Hazira, which was set to be shipped on a ro-ro ferry to Ghogha, Bhavnagar. This marks the first case where smugglers attempted to use the Ro-Ro ferry to transport liquor by sea within Gujarat.

Acting on a tip-off, an SMC team led by PSI V.C. Jadeja monitored the area near L&T Gate 2 and intercepted the truck at around 5:45 pm on Monday. The truck, with a Maharashtra license plate, was found carrying liquor. The driver, Sandip Dasondi, and the cleaner, Hemraj Semliya, both from Madhya Pradesh, were arrested.

A total of 10,416 bottles of various types of IMFL in 404 boxes, valued at Rs 26.63 lakh, were found in the truck. The driver told the police that he was instructed on Monday morning to pick up the truck on the Daman coastal highway and transport it to Hazira, where it would be loaded onto the ferry to Ghogha. From there, he was supposed to drive the consignment to a Junagadh address, which would be provided later.

The accused attempted to deceive the authorities with forged e-way bills from an Aerodynamic Plastic Company and another from a Pune-based firm. Police also seized documents related to Shukla Transport Services. A total of seven individuals have been booked in the case.”**